Self-adjusting screen-door grille as an article of manufacture



April 7, 1931- H. P. MATTHIESEN ET AL SELF ADJUSTING SCREEN DOOR GRILLE AS AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE Filed Sept.

Patented Apr. 7, 1931 'U T STATES PATENT OFFICE HILIBERT r. MATTHIESEN 4ND GHARLEY G. BEV RIDGE, OFYOKLAHOMA oI'rY,

OKLAHOMA a SELF-ADJUSTINGSCREEN-1500B GRILLE ASAN ARTICLE or MANUFACTURE Application filed September 1 3, 1929. Serial No. 392,388.

Our invention relates to door grilles having incorporated therewithin means for adjuster ably fitting doors or other frames having openings of various widths. i

The objects of our invention are to provide anarticle of this class which is'new, novel, practical and of utility; which will serve the purposes usual to other door grilles; which when manufactured in a given width will fit any one of a number ofdoors each having openings of differing widths', within certain limitations, and which when manufactured in'a few certain standard widths, will fit in doors having openings of many differing widths ;which will be relatively inexpensive in manufacture, which may'bestocked as merchandise; which will-be so simple in installation that it may be;installed by a person unskilled in the useof woodworking tools; which may be-installed upon doors which have been racked or warped out of square {which will not be affected by the expansion or contraction of the door frame; which will be neat in appearance; which will be strong and durable; which may instantly be placed in or removed from an opendoor way, if desired, to prevent ingress or egress of small children or the like; which primarily is designedfor disposal upon the lower portion of a screen door to protect the doors screen mesh; which will be efiicient in accomplishingall the purposes for which it is intended. Screen door grilles and 'other door grilles are not new. Both are in common use; Due,

however, to the many varyingwidths of door ways and to thelfurthervarying widths of the material formingthe screen doorframes,

it has been found impractical to manufacture,

40 and for thedealer to carry on hand, stocks of screen door grilles. .Even if so manufactured and stocked, each individualscreen'doorupon which a grille isto be placed'providesa problem in fitting which could only be met by a mechanic equipped with various tools. a

Our selfadju'sting screen door grilles will render practical the mass production, of such grilles and permit the dealer with a small stock of grilles of different width, to supply economically the .demandsiof his customers for the fitting of same todoors of many differing Widths.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appear, our invention consists in thetonstruction, novel features, and combinat on of parts hereinafter more fully described, pointed out inthe claims hereto appended, and illustrated in the accompanying one-sheet drawing, of which, Figure 1 is a front elevation of one of our grillesdisposed upon a usual screen door;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary-sectional view showing the self adjusting means as employed in the grille shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing another embodiment'of the self adustlng means; and i Figure 4 is an elevational view of the adjusting means shown in Figure 3. 1 Like characters of reference designate like parts in all the figures.

It is understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion, size, shape, weight and other details of construction, within the scope of ourinvention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or broad principle of our invention and without sacrificing any ofthe'advantages thereof; and it is also understood that the drawings are to be interpreted' as beingillustrative and not restric- 1ve. A practical embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the drawings comprises: A pair of, cleats, indicated by the numerals '1 and 2,.respectively, a grille 3, andla pluralitylof spring controlled adjusting suspensionm'eanset. x i I l "The said cleats 1 and 2 are preferably of :wood, and their usual dimensions might approximate %x2%x27 though these dimensions'might easily vary in any degree to conform to a desired typeof construction. The gri'lleimay'be of any approved type, but in the embodiment here shown comprises a frameiiconsisting of a topYcross-member 5, a bottom cross-member 6 and left and right vertical members 7 and 8, respectively. Another pair of cross members 9 and 10, respectively, parallel the said members 5 and 6 and are. disposed thereinbetweem Aplurality of slender cylindrical wooden rods 11 pass vertically through spaced perforations in the said cross members 9 and 10, and are received into similarly spaced recesses in the top and bottom frame members 5 and 6.

The'grille 3 is held in self adjusting suspension between the said cleats 1 and 2. The manner of such suspension will here be disclosed in detail, as upon this feature depends our claims for novelty and usefulness. At a. point adjacent the upper end portion ofthe cleat 1, the latter is bored partly through from its edge as shown at 12 in Fig. 2. Alined with the said bore 12 in cleat 1is a short bored recess 13 in the upper end portion of the vertical member 7 of said grille. A compression spring 14 is disposed within the rearmost portion of said bore 12. A cylindrical plunger 15, preferably of hardwood, slidably projects from within said perforation 12, out wardly, to be received at its other end portion within the bored recess 13 in grille frame member 7. A pin 16 through said member 7 and the embraced endportion of the plunger 15, secures the latter thereto. Through the surface of the said cleat 1 and extending into the said bore 12 is a-narrow slot shown as 17. Slot 1'? is much less in width than the diameter of the said compression spring 14, is alined longitudinally center to center with said bore, but is not so long as the latter, and is set back approximately a half inch from the forward edge 18 of the cleat 1. After assembling the compression spring 14 and the rear end portion of the plunger 15 within said bore 12, said plunger is pushed backwardly against the compression of the said spring to a position in which the rear end portion of the plunger is exposed to view through the said slot'17. In this position a pin 19 is inserted laterally into the exposed end portionof the said plunger 15, adjacent said compression spring. The said'pin 19is set into the plunger 15 in such a manner as to leave its head portion extending outwardly into the slot 17 but not entirely through and tothe outer edges of said slot. Said pin 19 thus acts as a stop to the extreme outward travel of the plunger, and the slot 17 serves as a'travel race for said pin 19. In the embodiment'of the device as shown in Fig. 1, four of the self-adjusting suspension. means of the character just described, are employed. Two ofwliic'hare disposed upon each side of the grille. Each one of the suspension means is disposed adjacent a corner of thegrille. It

will be obvious that, if desired, a. largernurnr ber of'the said suspension means maybe used u n each side of the grille. i

As will'benoted in Figs. 1and2,1andalso in Fig. 3, an open space shownas 20' isleft between the cleat members and the grille,

proper. 'This open space 20, will vary in width with the width of the opening shown as 21, between the side frame members 22 of while the grille is still held in suspension between the said cleats, permits any one of our adj ustablegrilles to be used with any one of a number of different screen doors having within certain limitations, varying widths of openings 21' between the said frames 22.

Moreover any ordinary distortion of said openings 21, from square will be compensated by said springs 14 and plungers 15.

Ininstallation of our grilles, a size will be selected approximating the width between frame members of the door-to be fitted. Said grille, assembled completely as heretofore described, including the said cleats, springs and plungers will be transported to the screen door to be fitted. The outer edge of cleat 1 will bepositioned upon the inner edge of the left side of said door frame member 22. Said cleat member 2 will be placed adjacent the inner edge of the right one of said door frame members 22. A slight pressure to the left upon the'right edge of said cleat member 2, will cause said plungers 15 to recede into their respective bored recesses 12, and said cleat 2 may then be readily snapped into place against the inner edge of said frame members 22. The driving of four screw nails 23, one eachthrough the beveled and perforated ends ofthe cleats land 2 into the said frame members 22, completes the installation. As shown in Fig. 1 the grille will be suspended centrally between said cleats, due to the equality of spring tension upon its sides.

Another embodiment of our device is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, wherein the plunger 15 and r spring 14 are provided with a cylindrical housing 24. In this embodiment of the spring suspension means, the'housing 24 is provided with a'slot shown as 25, therethrough, similar to and for the same purpose as the said slots '17 in cleats 1 and 2. The forwardend ofthe plunger'15, in this embodiment is provided with ahead 26. In'the use of this embodimentof the spring suspension means, the said cleats 1 and 2am provided adjacent each end portion with abored. recess 12, and said grille members with a bored recess 13 as heretofore described, but of larger diameters, re-

spectively, the diameter of the bores 12 being v the form of the device other than as herein described as fairly fall within the scope of our invention.

Having thus described our invention what is clamed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A device, as described, as an article of manufacture, embodying two vertical strips adapted to be rigidly attached to the inner edges of the side frame members of a door, a door grille adapted to be permanently attached resiliently between the edges of said strips, coil spring means including a plunger carried by each corner portion of said grille for positioning said grille between said strips in a manner permitting its movement with relation to said strips, only in alinement therewith.

2. A device, as described, as an article of manufacture, embodying two vertical strips, a door grille adapted for disposition between the edges of said strips, said strips adapted to be rigidly attached to the inner edges of the side frame members of a door, each of said strips having a plurality of spaced lateral first bores in its free edge portion and a like plurality of slots through its side, each slot longitudinally communicating with one of said first bores, said grille having a like plurality of lateral second bores in the outer edge portions of its side members alined with said first bores, a plurality of coiled springs, one each in each of said first bores, a like plurality of plungers, one end of each rigidly disposed in one of said second bores, its other end extending into one of said first bores and contacting and compressing one of said springs, said plungers each having a pin protruding laterally to within one of said slots, said pins respectively for'slidably positioning said plungers within said first bores;

HILBERT P. MATTHIESEN. CHARLEY G. BEVERIDGE'. 

